Water On Mars

Water on Mars, so challenging to find today, may once have covered the planet with rivers and oceans. The planet is smaller than Earth, with less gravity and a thinner atmosphere. Over time, as liquid water evaporated, more and more of it escaped into space, allowing less to fall back to the surface of the planet. Vast deposits of water appear to be trapped within the ice caps at the north and south poles of the planet. Each summer, as temperatures increase, the caps shrink slightly as their contents skip straight from solid to gas form, but in the winter, cooler temperatures cause them to grow to latitudes as low as 45 degrees, or halfway to the equator. The caps are an average of 2 miles (3 kilometers) thick and, if completely melted, could cover the Martian surface with about 18 feet (5.6 meters) of water.

Liquid water appears to flow from some steep, relatively warm slopes on the Martian surface. Researchers studying images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) noticed dark streaks that appear during warm weather but fade away when temperatures drop. Spectral analysis of these streaks, called recurring slope linae (RSL), lead scientists to conclude they are caused by salty liquid water. More water may be frozen just beneath the surface, covered by the dry red dust that blankets the planet. Some high-latitude regions seem to boast patterned ground-shapes that may have formed as permafrost in the soil freezes and thaws over time.

NASA’s Curiosity rover is the fifth robot to land on the surface of the Red Planet in the last 15 years. Pathfinder, Phoenix, Spirit and Opportunity all took detailed measurements of the planet; all but Phoenix traveled across the surface collecting a treasure trove of information. In 2008, Phoenix turned up small chunks of bright material that disappeared after four days, leading scientists to surmise that they were pieces of water ice. The lander went on to detect water vapor in a sample it collected and analyzed, confirming the presence of frozen water on the red planet. Spirit and Opportunity, the twin rovers, found traces of water enclosed in rock. In a shining example of a problem becoming a solution, a broken wheel on Spirit scraped into the top of the Martian surface, revealing a layer beneath rich in silica that had most likely formed in the presence of water. Curiosity has found yet more evidence of water flowing on ancient Mars.

Southeast Rim of the Hale Crater

In addition to examining the relatively recent (geologically speaking) presence of water, the various missions have also studied the surface of the planet in a historical context. In addition to understanding how Mars may have changed and developed over time, scientists hope that finding water will help them to find something even more valuable — life, either past or present. Recent orbiters, landers and rovers sent to Mars were designed to search for water, rather than life, in the hopes of finding environments where life could have thrived. The next NASA rover — a car-size robot based heavily on Curiosity’s basic design — will blast off in 2020 to look for evidence of past Red Planet life.

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Imago Dei

Quechua people may refer to any or all speakers of the Quechua languages, which originated among the indigenous peoples of South America. Most Quechua speakers live in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina. The most common Quechua dialect is Southern Quechua. The Kichwa people of Ecuador speak the Kichwa dialect; in Colombia, the Inga people speak Inga Kichwa. Traditionally, Quechua identity is locally oriented and inseparably linked in each case with the established economic system. It is based on agriculture in the lower altitude regions, and on pastoral farming in the higher regions of the Puna. The typical Andean community extends over several altitude ranges and thus includes the cultivation of a variety of arable crops and livestock. The land is usually owned by the local community and is either cultivated jointly or redistributed annually.

There is an outbreak of measles in Moldova. Travelers to Moldova should make sure they are vaccinated against measles with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.

The Human Brain

There are two sides to the human brain. Each side of the brain interacts with the opposite side of the body. The left side of the brain interacts with the right side of the body, and vice versa. The reason behind this way of interaction is still not understood.

Source: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Cluster Munition Coalition Country: Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Libya, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Ukraine, World, Yemen Armed conflict, namely in Afghanistan and Syria, contributed to last year’s exceptionally high casualties, with 2,300 and more than 1,900 recorded in these States alone, respectively. Record funding for landmine clearance, but […]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Tarantula Nebula. Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward (Barden Ridge Observatory). The Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus, is more than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star-forming region within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. About 180 thousand light-years away, it's the largest, most violent star-forming region known in the whole Local Group of galaxies. The cosmic image across this view, composed with narrowband filter data centred on emission from ionized hydrogen atoms. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, catalogued as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other star-forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and blown-out bubble-shaped clouds. In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, left of centre. The rich field of view spans about 1 degree or 2 full moons, in the southern constellation Dorado.

The Tardigrade

Conservation International's gift guide for 2018 has something for everyone.

Olivia DeSmit

National Flag of The Netherlands

The flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. The tricolour flag is almost identical to that of Luxembourg, except that it is shorter and its red and blue stripes are a darker shade. It originates as a variant of the older orange-white-blue Prinsenvlag (Prince's Flag), introduced in the 17th century as the Statenvlag (States Flag), the naval flag of the States-General of the Dutch Republic. Its official status as the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formalized in 1937.

Exercise increased caution in Argentina due to probable demonstrations and disruptions during and leading up to the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held on November 30 and December 1 in Buenos Aires. During and leading up to the event, protests from both international and local groups may occur with little […]

Columbine

Work of Art

The Last Judgment is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo, covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. There are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies. The work took over four years, between 1536 and 1541. Michelangelo began working on it twenty-five years after he finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was nearly 67 at its completion. It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII but was completed under Pope Paul III.

If someone sticks out like a sore thumb, or stands out like a sore thumb, everyone notices them because they're not the same as the people around them.

Christian Love

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 8.

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2018 Sky Guide This Week

November 17: The Moon passes 3° south of Neptune, 6h UT (1 AM EST).

November 17: Asteroid Juno is at opposition, 22h UT (5 PM EST).

November 17: Leonid meteor shower peaks.

November 20: Moon passes 5° south of Uranus, 20h UT (3 PM EST).

November 23: Full Moon occurs at 5h39m UT (12:39 AM EST).

November 25: Neptune is stationary, 8h UT (3 AM EST).

November 26: Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun, 7h UT (2 AM EST).

November 26: The Moon is at perigee (227,807 miles from earth), 12h12m UT (7:12 AM EST).

Credit: Astronomy.

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A Canadian woman who is in a same-sex relationship turned to Facebook and the media after her church informed her that she was no longer welcome as a member. The church pushed her to repent of homosexuality on multiple occasions, but she refused.

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ISIS STILL ACTIVE IN NINEVEH PLAINS. Click on the image to read more.

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Creation is enthralling and mysterious, and the wisdom of God remains perennially unfathomable. To know Him is to barely understand His heart but to know myself, despite the many regrettable mistakes that have been made, is to understand the sufficiency of His grace, faithfulness, and lovingkindness. My enriching journey with Him took me through the halls of national service (the army), auditing, cross-cultural missionary service, church work, mentoring, psychology, and caregiving. Although now in retirement, I am still very much a learner at heart and an avid reader, and despite the smudges in life, I love it. Eternity then becomes a lifelong expectation. Zheluo Cai